BGS Geological Indicators of Flooding: Map of British River and Coastal Floodplains

A 1:50,000 scale digital map from the British Geological Survey shows areas in Britain at greatest risk from inland river and coastal/estuarine flooding. The map is based on observation of geological deposits and identifies main floodplain areas, serving as a complementary tool to Environment Agency flood risk maps. It does not account for man-made influences or low-lying areas without past geological evidence of flooding.

Use Cases

• Identify areas vulnerable to river flooding based on geological floodplain data mentioned in the description
• Assess coastal flood risk for infrastructure planning based on mapped coastal and estuarine plains
• Cross-reference geological flood indicators with existing engineering flood protection schemes
• Prioritize land-use zoning decisions using the map of areas with past geological evidence of flooding

Strengths

• Based on the BGS Digital Geological Map of Great Britain at a detailed 1:50,000 scale
• Covers two main flooding types: inland (river floodplains) and coastal/estuarine as stated in the description
• Sourced from the authoritative British Geological Survey (BGS)

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to its focus on Britain
• The map does not incorporate man-made influences like flood protection schemes, as noted in the description

Provenance

Source

British Geological Survey (BGS), via Scottish Government SpatialData.gov.scot

Collection Method

Digital map based on observation of geological deposits present

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-08 13:31:40.164841; freshness should be verified

Geography

Great Britain